Rachid M’Barki fired from BFMTV for serious misconduct

Accused of having relayed information on the air without the validation of its chief editor, the journalist of BFMTV Rachid M’Barki was dismissed this Thursday, February 23, 2023 for serious misconduct. Explanations.

A historic face of BFMTV licensed. Present since the creation of the channel in 2005, Rachid M’Barki was suspended since January 11 after being suspected of having relayed several pieces of information on the air without going through the channel’s traditional validation circuit. This Thursday, February 23, 2023, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, the boss of the continuous news channel, announced in an internal email that he had dismissed the 54-year-old journalist which presented the night diary, broadcast between midnight and 4:30 a.m. “These investigations made it possible to identify several sequences, between 2021 and 2022, which were broadcast without respecting the validation process of the editorial line“, writes the leader.

Rachid M’Barki fired from BFMTV: dsuspicion of foreign interference

According to the website Politicowho first disclosed the information earlier this month, Rachid M’Barki mentioned in particular last June the economic forum of Dakhla, in Morocco, mentioning the “Spanish recognition of the Moroccan Sahara“. An expression that is not usually used by the French media, because Western Sahara is the subject of a diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Algeria. An investigation by the consortium of journalists Forbidden Stories had revealed on February 15 that this information had been provided ready-made by an Israeli disinformation agency.

Marc-Olivier Fogiel announces that he has filed a complaint against X

In his internal email, Marc-Olivier Fogiel specifies that “these shortcomings are the sole responsibility of a journalist who has not respected the rules in force within the editorial staff“. The manager also specifies that he has filed a complaint against X”relative to the facts“. According to BFMTV, this case convinced the Altice group, to which the channel belongs, to “further strengthen its current systems to enable better security of content integration processes and antenna control tracking“. And Marc-Olivier Fogiel to insist: “This isolated case in no way reflects the exceptional and rigorous work carried out with professionalism and ethics by the 250 journalists of BFMTV to which management reaffirms its support and confidence“.

What future for Let the accused enter on RMC Story?

Besides the night diaryRachid M’Barki was with Dominique Rizet one of two incarnations of the magazine Let the accused enter since its relaunch on RMC Story in 2020. Recently interviewed by Tele-LeisureStéphane Sallé de Chou, who runs the channel, assured that the case of Rachid M’Barki does not call into question the production of unpublished issues of Let the accused enter. It is now up to the channel to decide between two options: choose a new incarnation or leave Dominique Rizet alone in charge.